Director
Hidetoshi FUJII

 The Joining and Welding Research Institute (JWRI) was formally established in 1972 as the Welding Research Institute based on the recommendation of the Science Council of Japan to meet academic and industrial requirements. Since then, our institute has actively promoted both fundamental and applied research and has become the only institute in Japan, and the world’s leading institute, in the fi eld of welding and joining. The institute was reorganized into the “JWRI” in 1996 to meet the increasing demand for “joining” in industry, because of the diversifi cation required by the trend towards globalization in manufacturing, and in response to scientifi c and technological progress. Furthermore, in 2009, the JWRI was recognized as a Joint Usage/Research Center by the Ministry of Edu-cation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The JWRI celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.

 At the JWRI, three research divisions for fundamental and applied research-namely “Materials Joining Process”, “Materials Joining Mechanism” and “Mate-rials Joining Assessment”—, and also the “Research Center for Additive Joining Application (RAJA)” for advanced research with a focus on the nanoscale, work closely together and perform world-leading research in the fi eld of welding and joining. As the Joint Usage/Research Center on Joining & Welding, the JWRI accepts “Joint Research Collaborators” numbering more than 200 professors and researchers annually from about 80 universities and public research institutes in Japan and has further established the “JWRI International Joint Research Collab-orator (JIJReC)” program to expand its research activities into global collaboration. From the viewpoint of education and development of personnel, generally 100 graduate students and undergraduates who belong to the Faculty of Engineering, Osaka University, study at the JWRI every year.

 The Design & Engineering by Joint Inverse Innovation for Materials Architecture Project (DEJI2MA), which launched in 2021 with support from MEXT, is de-signed to address diverse social demands and global issues at "Core Dejima". We will accelerate innovation through "Multi-Dejima" that transcends the boundaries of six universities and six research institutes. By bringing together the strengths (seeds) of six research institutes, we will respond to the needs of companies and other organizations and speed up social implementation.

 The JWRI has a framework of quick decision-making and can readily react to and meet current demands. It is important to reform the institute in line with the times while preserving its unique characteristics. In April 2022, the “Smart Pro-cessing Research Center” attached to the JWRI was reorganized into “RAJA” to meet the new demands for “joining” in manufacturing. The JWRI hopes to continue to take the same attitude for the next 50 years. RAJA promotes advanced research on linear manufacturing, planar manufacturing and additive manufac-turing (AM), thus creating a new discipline in the fi eld of welding and joining. AM is a combination of welding processes and there is a trend for AM to be used or desired even in places where high safety and reliability are required. This trend is expected to provide a great boost to the joining world.

 Regarding RAJA, the renovation of Building No. 1 was approved in a budget request to MEXT and will be completed in 2024. Our Institute has a 25-year his-tory of research in AM, and we are proud to be in a position to lead Japan and the world in this fi eld. This year, in conjunction with the above-mentioned renovations, we are planning to build an AM platform in cooperation with the Japan Welding Engineering Society. This platform will integrate database construction, standards, and certifi cation related to AM.

 One of the JWRI’s main features is conducting active collaboration with industry under the “tradition of practical science” in the Osaka University Charter. The JWRI promotes collaborations with private companies and currently accepts the provision of three Research Alliance Laboratories and one Joint Research Chair funded by private companies. Honda-Osaka Univ. Joining Technology Monozukuri Research Alliance Laboratories, which was established in March 2024, was the fi rst collaborative research laboratory that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. established at a university nationwide.

 In this way, our research institute boasts an overwhelming number of collabora-tive laboratories and joint research departments for its size. From April 2023, the New Normal Manufacturing Consortium Offi ce, with a full-time professor as the director, organically links these collaborative research institutes and joint research departments to promote research and development in an industry-industry-aca-demia system.

 The JWRI will perform research that is relevant to the demands of society in the 21st century and also to the vision of a successful global society in the 22nd cen-tury. Our staff will make continuous eff orts to achieve the present and future tar-gets. The JWRI will play an important role in contributing to the sustainable growth of society through technological innovations in welding and joining.

 We appreciate your continued support and encouragement.